North Korea fires ballistic missile from submarine, South Korea confirms

[soryang]

North Korea fires ballistic missile from submarine, South Korea confirms
ByJOOHEE CHOSEOUL, South Korea — Oct 2, 2019, 7:54 AM ET ABC News

North Korea fired a ballistic missile towards the East Sea Wednesday morning near the waters off the coastal town of Wonsan, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed to ABC NEWS.

The missile, capable of launching from a submarine, traveled 280 miles and hit a maximum altitude of 569 miles.

This is the highest altitude in almost two years meaning it could fly as far as the U.S. mainland.

South Korea’s Joint Chief of Staff confirms to ABC News that it was fired from above waters but would not confirm whether it was launched from a submarine or a platform.

more: https://abcnews.go.com/International/north-korea-fires-ballistic-missile-submarine-south-korea/story?id=65998968

The nature of the launch platform is not confirmed. It may have been a submerged barge rather than a submarine. Interesting that 38 North reported a submersible test stand barge in Nampo, North Korea last week. But Nampo shipyards are on the west coast of North Korea, and Wonsan is on the east coast not far from the Sinpo submarine base.

[NCjack]

1. Who could've saw this comin'? nt

[TheCowsCameHome]

2. Was it a big, beautiful missle?

Trump doesn't like any other kind.

[soryang]

3. Air Force launched test Minuteman III ICBM today too.

Link to tweet

We also had Moon Jae In's speech yesterday for Military Day extolling South Korean military strength, accompanied by flights of its newly acquired F-35s.

Another observer pointed out that the Russians test launched an ICBM on Sep. 30. Yesterday, China demonstrated it's new ICBMs at a military parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of the PRC.

The new US defense secretary has been promoting the deployment of US IRBMs in the far east now that the US is no longer constrained by the treaty with Russia on that category of weapons.

So the test launch of a SLBM today near Wonsan North Korea takes place in this international context as well as the context of UN sanctions and US-DPRK negotiations.